Lab-on-chip system and method and apparatus for manufacturing and operating same

ABSTRACT

A lab-on-chip system comprises an antenna and a communications subsystem to wirelessly transmit information from the lab-on-chip system. The communications subsystem may also receive information, data or instructions from an off-chip system or device. The lab-on-chip system may comprise a passive power subsystem coupled to an antenna to wirelessly receive power in the form of an electromagnetic field, which provides electrical power derived therefrom to at least one other subsystem of the lab-on-chip system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure generally relates to lab-on-chip systems typicallyemploying micro-electrical-mechanical structure (MEMS), and to themanufacturing and/or operation of lab-on-chip systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

Progress in nano-technology including manufacture of MEMS devices ismaking sophisticated lab-on-chip systems, also known as total analysissystems (μTAS), commercially viable. Lab-on-chip technology usesintegrated circuit like micro-fabrication techniques to translateexperimental and analytical protocols into chip architectures, typicallyformed as fluid reservoirs and interconnected pathways

The lab-on-chip systems typically employ one or more MEMS devices, whichmay take a variety of forms. For example, MEMS devices may take the formof various microfluidic devices capable of performing operations onsmall bodies of fluids and/or on particles suspended in a fluid, forexample, a colloidal suspension. Microfluidic devices commonly employfluids such as whole blood samples, bacterial cell suspensions, proteinor antibody solutions, and various buffers, and reagents.

Microfluidic devices may include one or more channels typically with adimension less than one millimeter, or may take the form of a channelessfield or array. Microfluidic devices may employ pumps, valves, gears,electrodes and other structures, which typically have analogs on themacroscopic world, to move fluids and/or suspended particles using, forexample, pressure or electrokinetic forces. The controlled movement maybe employed to combine materials, divide materials, concentratematerials, direct materials to reagents, etcetera.

Microfluidic devices may be used to obtain a variety of measurementsincluding molecular diffusion coefficients, fluid viscosity, pH,chemical binding coefficients, and enzyme reaction kinetics. Otherapplication for microfluidic devices include capillary electrophoreses,isoelectric focusing, electrowetting, immunoassays, flow cytometry,sample injection of proteins for analysis via mass spectrometry, PCRamplification, DNA analysis, cell manipulation, cell separation, cellpatterning and/or chemical gradient formation. Many of theseapplications have utility for clinical diagnostics.

Lab-on-chip systems may have several advantages over conventionallaboratory systems. For example, such systems typically have a smallerphysical footprint than standard laboratory setups, and have low powerconsumption. Micro-fabrication techniques permit simplifiedmanufacturing and superior reproducibility, reducing costs. Lab-on-chipsystems also provide the ability to work with very small volumes ofsamples, agents, reagents or other materials. This lowers the cost ofmaterials, permits smaller samples to be taken from test subjects, suchas patients, and also reduces disposal costs. Lab-on-chip systems mayenhance automation leading to lower costs, higher throughput and moreconsistent results.

There is still significant room for improvement in the structure oflab-on-chip systems, and in the manufacture and operation of suchdevice. Such improvements may be directed at reducing the cost of suchdevices, and making the devices more reliable and easier to operate.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a lab-on-chip system comprises at least a firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure formed on at least a portion ofthe substrate, the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure operableto perform at least one physical action on at least one physical workproduct; an antenna carried by the substrate; and a passive powercircuit carried by the substrate and coupled to the antenna towirelessly receive power thereby in the form of an electromagnetic fieldand coupled to provide power to operate at least the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure.

In another aspect, a lab-on-chip system comprises a substrate; at leasta first micro-electrical-mechanical structure formed on at least aportion of the substrate, the first micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure operable to perform at least one physical action on at leastone physical work product; an antenna; and a communications circuitcarried by the substrate, coupled to the antenna and operable towirelessly transmit information from the lab-on-chip system. The antennamay be carried by the substrate or may be provided independently of thesubstrate. The lab-on-chip system may comprise a communicationssubsystem to transmit the information or data from the lab-on-chipsystem and/or receive information, data or instructions from an off-chipsystem or device. The lab-on-chip system may comprise a passive powersubsystem coupled to an antenna to wirelessly receive power in the formof an electromagnetic field and coupled to provide electrical powerderived therefrom to at least one other subsystem of the lab-on-chipsystem.

In a further aspect, a method of operating a lab-on-chip systemcomprises wirelessly receiving an electromagnetic field at an antenna;converting the wireless signal into electrical power; and driving atleast one micro-electrical-mechanical structure with the electricalpower.

In still a further aspect, a method of operating a lab-on-chip systemcomprises determining at least one of an operating characteristic of afirst micro-electrical-mechanical structure or a physical characteristicof the physical work product; and wirelessly transmitting the determinedinformation from the lab-on-chip system.

In even a further aspect, a method of operating a lab-on-chip systemcomprises determining at least one of an operating characteristic of afirst micro-electrical-mechanical structure or a physical characteristicof the physical work product; and storing the determined information onthe lab-on-chip system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elementsor acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of variouselements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elementsare arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility.Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are notintended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of theparticular elements, and have been solely selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a lab-on-chip system accordingto one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a communications subsystemaccording to one illustrated embodiment, for use with the lab-on-chipsystem of FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a lab-on-chip system accordingto another illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a top isometric partially exploded view of a lab-on-chipsystem of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is partially a cross-sectional view of a MEMS device in the formof an array of electrodes suitable for use in electro-wetting, andpartially a functional block diagram of a control subsystem coupled tocontrol operation of the MEMS device according to one illustratedembodiment.

FIG. 6 is partially a cross-sectional view of a MEMS device in the formof an array of electrodes suitable for use in electrophoreses andpartially a functional block diagram of a control system coupled to thecontrol the array of electrodes according to another illustratedembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a MEMS device in the form of a checkvalve according to one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a MEMS device in the form of a fixedgeometry valve pump according to another illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a MEMS device in the form of a microgearpump according to a further illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing environment tomanufacture the lab-on-chip systems according to one illustratedembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a laboratory or other facility inwhich lab-on-chip systems are used according to another illustratedembodiment.

FIGS. 12A-12C are a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing alab-on-chip system according to one illustrated embodiment.

FIGS. 13A-13C are a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing alab-on-chip system according to another illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating alab-on-chip system according to one illustrated embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize thatthe invention may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures associated with lab-on-chip systems,micro-electrical-mechanical structure (MEMS) such as microfluidicdevices, controllers, communications circuits, transmitters, receivers,transceivers and passive power supplies, and methods of manufacturingand operating same have not been shown or described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments of theinvention.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open,inclusive sense, that is as “including, but not limited to.”

FIG. 1 shows a lab-on-chip system 10 a according to one illustratedembodiment where one or more subsystems are integrally formed on asubstrate 12. The substrate may comprise one or more layers of variousmaterials for example: insulators or dielectrics such as glass, ceramicand/or polycrystalline silicon; conductors such as copper, gold, silver,and/or aluminum; and/or semiconductors such as doped silicon, germanium,gallium arsenide and/or gallium arsenide phosphide.

The lab-on-chip system 10 a includes a variety of subsystems to handlevarious aspects of operation. The lab-on-chip system 10 a may includeone or more antennas 14 a and communications subsystems 16 a coupled tothe antenna 14 a to provide wireless communications from and/or to thelab-on-chip system 10 a. The antenna 144 a may be formed as one or moreconductive traces formed on the substrate 12. The conductive traces maybe formed, for example, by depositing and/or etching using standardprinted circuit board and/or micro-fabrication techniques (e.g.,techniques employed in fabrication of integrated circuits ormicro-electrical-mechanical structure (MEMS)). While illustrated as adipole antenna 14 a, the antenna may take a variety of forms, forexample a coil antenna or Yagi antenna, depending on the particularenvironment and application in which the lab-on-chip will be used.

The communications subsystem 16 a may likewise be integrally formed onthe substrate 12 using standard printed circuit board and/ormicro-fabrication techniques. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1,the communications subsystem is formed as a communications circuit suchas those commonly associated with passive radio frequency identification(RFID) tags or passive store security tags. In another embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, the communications subsystem may comprises atransmitter 16 c and/or receiver 16 d. The transmitter 16 c and receiver16 d may be formed individually, or may be formed as a transceiver 16.

The chip-on-lab system 10 a may also include a passive power subsystem18 a which may be integrally formed on the substrate 12 using standardprinted circuit board and/or micro-fabrication techniques. The passivepower subsystem 18 a is so denominated because it derives electricalpower from electromagnetic fields, for example RF signals, wirelesslyreceived at the antenna 14 a and provides the electrical power tooperate one or more of the other subsystems. The passive power subsystem18 a may include a voltage rectifier and/or energy storage device suchas a capacitor or ultra capacitor. The passive power subsystem 18 a mayemploy various circuitry and/or techniques from the field ofradio-frequency identification (RFID) such as those taught in U.S. Pat.No. 6,429,775; U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,587; and/or U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,598for deriving power from the wireless signals.

The lab-on-chip system 10 a may further include a control subsystem 20 awhich may be integrally formed on the substrate 12 using standardprinted circuit board and/or micro-fabrication techniques. The controlsubsystem 20 a controls operation of one or more of the othersubsystems. The control subsystem 20 a may be hardwired, in a formsimilar to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Alternatively, the control subsystem 20 a may execute instructionsprovided in a program or other software routine, in a form similar to amicrocontroller or microprocessor. The instructions may be stored in amemory such as a register, read-only memory (ROM) and/or a random accessmemory (RAM) which may be formed as part of the control subsystem 20 a,or may be distinct therefrom. The memory of the control subsystem 20 amay be preconfigured or programmed with instructions and/or may receiveinstructions via the antenna 14 a and communications subsystem 16 a.

The lab-on-chip system 10 a may further include a self check subsystem22 a which may be integrally formed in the substrate 12 using commonprinted circuit board and/or micro-fabrication techniques. The selfcheck subsystem 22 a executes self check tests of one or moresubsystems, and may even perform a self check test on the self checksubsystem 22 a itself. The self check subsystem 22 a may provide resultsof one or more self check tests from the lab-on-chip system 10 a via thecommunications subsystem 16 a and antenna 14 a. The self check subsystemmay be hardwired in a fashion similar to an ASIC, or may executeinstructions stored in a memory such as a register, ROM or RAM which mayform a portion of the self check subsystem 22 a or may be distincttherefrom.

The lab-on-chip system 10 a may further include an interface subsystem24 a to interface which may be integrally formed in the substrate 12using common printed circuit board and/or micro-fabrication techniques.The interface subsystem 24 a interfaces with one or more MEMS devices26, for example, pumps, valves, electrodes, channels, sensors 27 and/orother transducers. Some specific examples of MEMS devices are discussedbelow with reference to FIGS. 5-9.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a lab-on-chip system 10 b according to anotherillustrated embodiment in which one or more subsystems are discretelyformed as one or more separate wafers or chips 30, which are placed,soldered or otherwise located on the substrate 12. The wafer(s) orchip(s) 30 may be packaged or unpackaged, and may be mounted to thesubstrate 12 using any of a variety of mounting techniques, for example,via flip chip techniques.

The wafer or chip 30 may be physically and/or logically partitioned intoseparate subsystems such as a communications subsystem 16 b, controlsubsystem 20 b, self check subsystem 22 b and interface subsystem 24 b.The lab-on-chip system 10 b may include a communications port 28 tophysically and communicatingly couple an off-substrate antenna 14 b tothe communications subsystem 16 b carried by the substrate 12.

The lab-on-chip system 10 b may employ a discrete power source 18 b suchas one or more battery cells and/or ultra capacitors. The discrete powersource 18 b may take the place of the passive power subsystem 18 a(FIG. 1) or may be provided in addition to the passive power subsystem18 a.

As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the substrate 12 may carry one or moreMEMS devices. The MEMS devices may, for example, include one or morechannels 32 formed in one or more layers of the substrate 12. Thechannels 32 may be formed to contain and/or direct movement of one ormore fluid bodies 34 as is commonly understood in the field of MEMStechnology and particularly in the field of microfluidic technology. Thelab-on-chip system 10 b may include a cover 36 to at least partiallyenclose the channel 32 and/or protect elements of the various subsystemsor buses interconnecting the various subsystems. The cover 36 may takethe form of glass or another insulative material, and may or may not betransparent.

The MEMS devices may include one or more sensors 27 operable to sense ordetect one or more operating characteristics of one or more MEMS devicesand/or one or more physical characteristics of the work product. Thesensors may take a variety of forms. For example, rotational encodersand/or optical sensors may be employed to detect the movement and/orposition of work products such as fluid bodies, agents, reagents, and/orsamples. Rotational encoders and/or optical sensors may additionally oralternatively be employed to detect the movement and/or position ofvarious components of the MEMS devices such as gears, valves and/oractuators. Likewise, inductive sensors similar to those employed intouch screen devices may be employed to detect movement, position,and/or pressure of one of the work products or MEMS devices. Further,chemical sensors may be employed to, for example, detect the occurrenceor results of a chemical or biological reaction. Accelometers may beemployed to detect the rate of change or force of a work product or MEMSdevice. Voltage sensors, current sensors, resistivity sensors may beemployed to detect various electrical characteristics of one or morework products and/or one or more MEMS devices. As will be readilyapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the types of sensorsshould not be limited to those disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a MEMS device 26 particularly useful inmicrofluidics operations such as electrowetting. The MEMS device 26comprises a plurality of electrodes 38 spaced about a portion of thesubstrate 12 and selectively actuable to apply a potential to a portionof the fluid body 34. The substrate 12 may comprise one or more layers,for example a base 12 a and a fluid compatibility coating or layer 12 b.The fluid compatibility layer 12 b may comprise a hydrophobic materialto achieve the desired interaction between the fluid body 34, and thesubstrate 12, for example, to achieve a desired contact angle betweenthe fluid body 34 and the substrate 12. The hydrophobic material may bea dielectric, and may overlay the electrodes 38 to electrically insulatethe same. In some embodiments, the fluid compatibility layer 12 b mayalternatively comprise a hydrophilic material, which may or may notconstitute a dielectric.

The cover 36 may comprise one or more layers, for example glass 36 a anda conductive layer 362 b such as transparent Indium Tin Oxide (“ITO”)which may serve as a ground electrode to provide a ground potential tothe fluid body 34. The control subsystem 20 may include a controller 20c to control the operation of the electrodes 38 and gate drive circuitry20 d to transform the instructions from the controller 20 c to controlsignals for driving individual ones of the electrodes 38. Bysequentially activating electrodes 38, the fluid body 34 can be movedfrom a first position (shown in solid line) to a second position (shownin broken line).

FIG. 6 shows another MEMS device 26 particularly useful in microfluidicsoperations such as electrophoreses. Many of the elements of FIG. 6 aresimilar or analogous to the elements of FIG. 5 so will not be discussedin detail. The fluid body 34 includes one or more particles 46 suspendedin the fluid body 34, such as in a colloidal suspension. Activation ofthe electrodes 38 may cause the particles 46 to migrate through thefluid body 34, as is commonly known in electrophoreses.

FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of the MEMS device 26 in the form of asilicon check valve pump. A lower portions 12 a of the substrate 12 maysupport a patterned layer 12 c to form an inlet valve 50 a and an outletvalve 50 b which cooperates with a silicon member 52 to form the siliconcheck valve pump.

FIG. 8 shows still a further embodiment of a MEMS device 26 in the formof fixed geometry valve pump. The substrate 12 is patterned to form anumber of channels defining inlet diffuser elements 56 a and outletdiffuser elements 56 b. A pair of piezoelectric drive disks 58 areoperable to pump fluid from the inlet diffuser elements to the outletdiffuser elements 56 b.

FIG. 9 shows yet a further MEMS device 26 in the form of a micro-gearpump. The substrate 12 is patterned to form an inlet 60 a and an outlet60 b with a channel extending therebetween. The pair of intermeshinggears 62 a, 62 b are electromagnetically operable to move fluid from theinlet 60 a to the outlet 60 b.

FIG. 10 shows a manufacturing environment 70 suitable for manufacturinglab-on-chip systems 10 a, 10 b (collectively 10) according to oneillustrated embodiment.

The manufacturing environment 70 may include one or more clean rooms 72housing manufacturing equipment such as equipment typically associatedwith the micro-fabrication industry. One or more depositioning devices72 a may be employed for depositing various layers on the substrate 12.One or more masking devices 72 b may be employed for masking variouslayers of the substrate 12. One or more etching devices 72 c may beemployed for etching the various layers of the substrate 12. One or morecutting devices (not shown) may be employed for cutting the substrate 12or a wafer in which the substrate resides. One or more pick and placedevices 72 d may be employed to automatically pick packaged orunpackaged chips and place the chips on the substrate 12. While only asingle instance of each type of manufacturing device 72 a-72 d isillustrated, many manufacturing environments may contain multipleinstances of any of the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 d. Duringfabrication, a substrate may return to the same manufacturing device 72a-72 d multiple times.

A manufacturing control system 74 may control operation of one or moreof the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 d. In particular the manufacturingcontrol system 74 may include one or more antennas, transmitters,receivers, or transceivers, commonly referred to as interrogators,positioned throughout the clean room 72. For example, a first antenna 74a and/or transceiver 74 b may be positioned proximate or otherwiseassociated with the depositioning device 72 a. A second antenna 74 cand/or transceiver 74 d may be positioned proximate or otherwiseassociated with the masking device 72 b. A third antenna 74 e and/ortransceiver 74 f may be positioned proximate or otherwise associatedwith the etching device 72 c. A fourth antenna 74 g and/or transceiver74 h may be positioned proximate or otherwise associated with the pickand place machinery 72 d.

The manufacturing control system 74 may also include one or moremanufacturing computing systems 74 i. The transceivers 74 b, 74 d, 74 f,74 h may provide signals or information received from the lab-on-chipsystems 10 to the computing system 74 i. The transceivers 74 b, 74 d, 74f, 74 h may additionally, or alternatively provide signals orinformation received from the manufacturing computing system 74 i to thelab-on-chip systems 10. The manufacturing computing system 74 i may beprogrammed to control manufacturing operation based on the informationreceived from the individual lab-on-chip systems 10, for example, theresults of self check tests performed on the various lab-on-chip systems10.

While FIG. 10 illustrates a one-to-one pairing between the manufacturingdevices 72 a-72 d and antenna and transceiver combinations, othertopologies are of course possible. The particular typology will dependon the particular layout of the manufacturing environment 70 as well asthe signal strength of antennas and transceivers of both themanufacturing control system 74 and the lab-on-chip systems 10.

FIG. 11 shows a laboratory or other environment 76 suitable for usingthe lab-on-chip systems 10. The laboratory environment 76 may include alaboratory system 78 to analyze information resulting from operation ofthe lab-on-chip system 10. The laboratory system 78 may include one ormore antennas 78 a positioned to communicate with the lab-on-chip system10, one or more transmitters, receivers, or transceivers commonly knownas interrogators 78 b communicatingly coupled to the antenna 78 a, andone or more laboratory computing systems 78 c coupled to receive andprocess information received from the lab-on-chip system 10 via theantenna 78 and transceiver 78 b. The laboratory computing system 78 cmay include one or more programs for analyzing data collected by thelab-on-chip system 10. The laboratory environment 76 may also includeone or more automated laboratory devices 80 operable to physicallyinteract with the lab-on-chip system 10. For example, the laboratorydevice 80 may provide agents, reagents, samples or other materials tothe lab-on-chip system 10, for example, via a pipette array dispenser.The laboratory device 80 may be under control of the laboratorycomputing system 78 c, or may be operated independently thereof. Thelaboratory device 80 may further include sensors such as optical devicesto sense various physical characteristics of the lab-on-chip system 10.

FIGS. 12A-12C show a method 100 a of manufacturing a lab-on-chip system10 a according to one illustrated embodiment, starting at 102. Themethod 100 a is discussed with reference to various elements of thelab-on-chip systems 10 a illustrated in FIG. 1 and the manufacturingenvironment 70 illustrated in FIG. 10.

At 104, the substrate 12 is provided in the manufacturing environment 72(FIG. 10). At 106 a, the various manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c formthe self check subsystem 22 a on the substrate 12. At 108 a, the variousmanufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form the communications subsystem 16 aon the substrate 12. Optionally at 110 a, the various manufacturingdevices 72 a-72 c form the antenna 14 a on the substrate 12. At 112, theself check subsystem 22 a performs a self check test of itself. At 114,the self check subsystem 22 a performs a self check test of thecommunications subsystem 16 a. At 116, the communications subsystem 16 atransmits results of the self check test via the antenna 14 a.

At 118, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if there is afaulty subsystem. If a faulty subsystem exists, at 120 the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a, andat 122 discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a.If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 124 a.

At 124 a, the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form the control subsystem20 a on the substrate 12. At 126, the self check subsystem 22 a performsa self check of the control subsystem 20 a. At 128, the communicationssubsystem 16 a transmit the results of the self check test via theantenna 14 a.

At 130, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists. If a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 aat 122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 132 a.

At 132 a the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form a MEMS interfacesubsystem 24 a on the substrate 12. At 134, the self check subsystem 22a performs a self check test of the MEMS interface subsystem 24 a. At136, the communications subsystem 16 a transmits the results of the selfcheck test via the antenna 14 a.

At 138, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists. If a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a at120 and discontinues manufacture the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a at122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 140 a.

At 140 a, the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form the passive powersubsystem 18 a on the substrate. 12. At 142, the self check subsystem 22a performs a self check test on the passive power system 18. At 144, thecommunications subsystem 16 a transmits results of the self check testvia antenna 14 a, 14 b.

At 146, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists if a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 aat 122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 148.

At 148, the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form MEMS devices 26 on thesubstrate, for example one or more pumps, valves, gears, and/orelectrodes. At 150, the self check subsystem 22 a performs a self checktest of the MEMS structures 26. At 152, the self check test subsystem 22a performs a self check test of the interoperability of subsystems 16 a,18 a, 20 a, 22 a, 24 a, 26. The self check test of interoperability ofsubsystems may be performed following each self check test of theindividual subsystems. At 154, the communications subsystem 16 atransmits results of the self check test via the antenna 14 a.

At 156, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if there is afaulty subsystem or lab-on-chip system 10 a. If a subsystem is faulty orthe interoperability of the subsystems s faulty the manufacturingcomputing device 74 a identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 a at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 aat 122. If the subsystems and interoperability of the subsystems are notfaulty, manufacturing is completed at 158.

FIGS. 13A-13C show a method 100 b of manufacturing a lab-on-chip system10 b according to one illustrated embodiment, starting at 102. Themethod 100 b is discussed with reference to various elements of thelab-on-chip systems lob illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, as well as themanufacturing environment 70 illustrated in FIG. 10. Many of the acts inthe method 100 b are similar or identical to those of method 100 a, thuscommon reference numerals are used to identify such. The method 100 bassumes that each subsystem is provided independently. In someembodiments, some or all of the subsystems may be provided as a singleintegrated circuit, which may be packaged or unpackaged.

At 104, the substrate 12 is provided in the manufacturing environment 72(FIG. 10). At 106 b, manufacturing devices such as pick and placemachinery 72 d locate the self check subsystem 22 b on the substrate 12.At 108 b, manufacturing devices such as pick and place machinery 72 dlocate the communications subsystem 16 b on the substrate 12.

At 109, a communications port 28 is formed in the substrate 12, forexample, using the various manufacturing devices 72 a-72 d. At 110 b,manufacturing devices such as pick and place machinery 72 d couple theantenna 14 b to the communications port 28. At 112, the self checksubsystem 22 b performs a self check test of itself. At 114, the selfcheck subsystem 22 b performs a self check test of the communicationssubsystem 16 b. At 116, the communications subsystem 16 b transmitsresults of the self check test via the antenna 14 b.

At 118, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if there is afaulty subsystem. If a faulty subsystem exists, at 120 the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b, andat 122 discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b.If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 124 b.

At 124 b, manufacturing devices such as pick and place machinery 72 dlocate the control subsystem 20 b on the substrate 12. At 126, the selfcheck subsystem 22 b performs a self check of the control subsystem 20b. At 128, the communications subsystem 16 b transmit the results of theself check test via the antenna 14 b.

At 130, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists. If a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 bat 122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 132 b.

At 132 b, manufacturing devices such as pick and place machinery 72 dlocate a MEMS interface subsystem 24 b on the substrate 12. At 134, theself check subsystem 22 b performs a self check test of the MEMSinterface subsystem 24 b. At 136, the communications subsystem 16 btransmits the results of the self check test via the antenna 14 b.

At 138, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists. If a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 bat 122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 140 b.

At 140 b, manufacturing devices such as pick and place machinery 72 dlocate the passive power subsystem 18 b on the substrate 12. At 142, theself check subsystem 22 b performs a self check test on the passivepower system 18 b. At 144, the communications subsystem 16 b transmitsresults of the self check test via antenna 14 b.

At 146, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if a faultysubsystem exists. If a faulty subsystem exists, the manufacturingcomputing system 74 i identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 bat 122. If a faulty subsystem does not exist, control passes to 148.

At 148, the manufacturing devices 72 a-72 c form MEMS devices 26 on thesubstrate 12, for example one or more pumps, valves, gears, and/orelectrodes. At 150, the self check subsystem 22 b performs a self checktest of the MEMS structures 26. At 152, the self check test subsystem 22b performs a self check test of the interoperability of subsystems 16 b,18 b, 20 b, 22 b, 24 b, 26 b. The self check test of interoperability ofsubsystems may be performed following each self check test of theindividual subsystems. At 154, the communications subsystem 16 btransmits results of the self check test via the antenna 14 b.

At 156, the manufacturing computing system 74 i determines if there is afaulty subsystem or lab-on-chip system 10 b. If a subsystem is faulty orthe interoperability of the subsystems is faulty the manufacturingcomputing device 74 a identifies the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 b at120 and discontinues manufacture of the faulty lab-on-chip system 10 bat 122. If the subsystems and lab-on-chip system 10 b are not faulty,manufacturing is completed at 158.

FIG. 14 shows a method 200 of operating a lab-on-chip system 10according to one illustrated embodiment, starting at 202. The method 200is discussed with reference to various elements of the lab-on-chipsystems 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and the laboratory environment 76illustrated in FIG. 11.

At 204, an electromagnetic field is received at the antenna 14 of thelab-on-chip system 10. The electromagnetic field may, for example, takethe form of a wireless signal. At 206, the passive power subsystem 18 a,if any, converts the electromagnetic field to electric power. At 208,the passive power subsystem 18 a supplies electrical power to one ormore of the other subsystems 16 a, 20 a, 22 a, 24 a, 26. Alternatively,the discrete power source 18 b may supplied power to one or more of theother subsystems 16 a, 20 a, 22 a, 24 a, 26.

At 210, the self check subsystem 22 may optionally perform a self checkof one or more of the subsystems and/or interoperability of thesubsystems. At 212, the self check subsystem 22 and/or the controlsubsystem 20 determines if there is a faulty subsystem or if thelab-on-chip system 10 is faulty. If a fault is detected, at 214 thecommunications subsystem 16 encodes and transmits a fault message viathe antenna 14 and the method terminates at 216.

If the subsystems and lab-on-chip system 10 are not faulty, the controlsystem 20 decodes instructions, if any, contained in the wirelesssignal. At 220, the control subsystem 20 controls operation of thevarious subsystems according to instructions previously provided orreceived via the wireless signal.

At 222, one or more sensors sense operating characteristics of the MEMSand/or physical characteristics of the work product such as fluid body34 or particles 46 suspended in the fluid body 34. At 224, thecommunications subsystem 16 a encodes and transmits the sensedcharacteristics to the laboratory computing system 78 c via the antenna14, antenna 78 a, and transceiver 78 b. Optionally at 226, the controlsubsystem 20 a saves the sensed characteristics to memory.

As discussed above, certain embodiments may provide distinct advantagesover conventional lab-on-chip systems. For example, self check testingallows faults to be discovered during manufacturing or during use. Bycombining the self checking test with a modular approach tomanufacturing, defects may be detected and manufacturing operationsceased or revised to eliminate useless manufacturing operations, therebyreducing costs and/or increasing manufacturing throughput. For example,fatal defects in an earlier manufactured subsystem may be caught beforesubsequent subsystems are manufactured. The lab-on-chip system 10 withthe faulty subsystem may be marked or otherwise identified and furthermanufacturing operations on the particular lab-on-chip system avoided.Alternatively, a substitute subsystem for the faulty subsystem may bemanufactured or activated (e.g., coupled into with the other subsystems,for example, during the manufacture of those other subsystems).Discovering faults before or during operation may allow experiments tonot be started or ceased before significant amounts of time have pasted,particular where the lab-on-chip system is unlikely to produce reliableresults. Other lab-on-chip systems may be timely substituted for thefaulty lab-on-chip system.

Also for example, use of wireless transmission may eliminate the needfor complicated and costly physical connections. The use of a passivepower subsystem may extend the useful life of the lab-on-chip system,since such will not depend on the life of a battery. The use of wirelesstransmission may also allow control over the operation of thelab-on-chip system, include reprogramming. Further, the use of wirelesscommunications significantly enhances the ability toe perform self checktesting in the manufacturing environment, where physical connectionswould be difficult, if even possible.

The above description of illustrated embodiments, including what isdescribed in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe invention to the precise forms disclosed. Although specificembodiments of and examples are described herein for illustrativepurposes, various equivalent modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention, as will be recognized bythose skilled in the relevant art. The teachings provided herein of theinvention can be applied to other MEMS devices, not necessarily theexemplary MEMS devices generally described above. The lab-on-chip systemmay include fewer or additional subsystems, and elements from oneembodiment may be used with other embodiments. For example, some of thesubsystems of a lab-on-chip system 10 may be integrally formed with eachother, while other ones of the subsystems are provided as discretepackages. For example, the control, self check and MEMS interfacesubsystems 20, 22, 24 may be formed as a an integrated circuit on thesubstrate 12, while the communications subsystem 16 and/or passive powersubsystem 18 a may be formed as one or more discrete components andlocated on the substrate.

For instance, the foregoing detailed description has set forth variousembodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of blockdiagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such block diagrams,schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/oroperations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that eachfunction and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, orexamples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a widerange of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combinationthereof. In one embodiment, the present subject matter may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodimentsdisclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implementedin standard integrated circuits, as one or more computer programsrunning on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs runningon one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on oneor more controllers (e.g., microcontrollers) as one or more programsrunning on one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), as firmware,or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing thecircuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware wouldbe well within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure.

In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some of themechanisms taught herein are capable of being distributed as a programproduct in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodimentapplies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearingmedia used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signalbearing media include, but are not limited to, the following: recordabletype media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD ROMs, digitaltape, and computer memory; and transmission type media such as digitaland analog communications links using TDM or IP based communicationslinks (e.g., packet links).

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, including butnot limited to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/492,123,filed Aug. 1, 2003; U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.60/492,125, filed Aug. 1, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,775; U.S. Pat. No.5,808,587; U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,598; U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,997; and/or U.S.application Ser. No. 10/909,919 filed currently with this applicationand entitled INTEGRATED TEST-ON-CHIP SYSTEM AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMANUFACTURING AND OPERATING SAME, are incorporated herein by reference,in their entirety. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ systems, circuits and concepts of the variouspatents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the invention to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, butshould be construed to include all lab-on-chip systems; methods ofmanufacturing and/or operating lab-on-chip systems and/or devices orsystems for manufacturing and/or operating lab-on-chip systems thatoperated in accordance with the claims. Accordingly, the invention isnot limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to be determinedentirely by the following claims.

1. A lab-on-chip system, comprising: a substrate; at least a firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure formed on at least a portion ofthe substrate, the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure operableto perform at least one physical action on at least one physical workproduct; an antenna carried by the substrate; a passive power circuitcarried by the substrate and coupled to the antenna to wirelesslyreceive power thereby in the form of an electromagnetic field andcoupled to provide power to operate at least the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure; a controller carried by thesubstrate and communicatively coupled to control operation of at leastthe first micro-electrical-mechanical structure by executing a set ofinstructions; and a communications circuit carried by the substrate andoperable to wirelessly transmit data from and to the lab-on-chip system,wherein the instructions are receivable via the antenna and thecommunication circuit.
 2. The lab-on-chip system of claim 1, furthercomprising: at least a first sensor carried by the substrate andoperable to sense at least one operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure; a communications circuit carriedby the substrate and operable to wirelessly transmit informationregarding the at least one operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure from the lab-on-chip system. 3.The lab-on-chip system of claim 1, further comprising: at least a firstsensor carried by the substrate and operable to sense at least onephysical characteristic of the physical work product; a communicationscircuit carried by the substrate and operable to wirelessly transmitinformation regarding the at least one physical characteristic of thephysical work product from the lab-on-chip system.
 4. The lab-on-chipsystem of claim 1 wherein the first micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure comprises at least a first micro-fluidic structure formed onat least a portion of the substrate, the first micro-fluidic structureoperable to move at least a first fluid component.
 5. The lab-on-chipsystem of claim 4 wherein the first fluid component is a body of fluid.6. The lab-on-chip system of claim 4 wherein the first fluid componentis a number of particles suspended in a fluid medium.
 7. The lab-on-chipsystem of claim 1 wherein the at least a firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure comprises an array of electrodesoperable to move at least a first fluid component.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising a self check subsystem.
 9. A lab-on-chipsystem, comprising: a substrate; at least a firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure formed on at least a portion ofthe substrate, the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure operableto perform at least one physical action on at least one physical workproduct; an antenna carried by the substrate; a controller carried bythe substrate and communicatively coupled to control operation of atleast the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure by executing a setof instructions; and a communications circuit carried by the substrate,the communications circuit coupled to the antenna and operable towirelessly transmit information from and to the lab-on-chip system,wherein the instructions are receivable via the antenna and thecommunication circuit.
 10. The lab-on-chip system of claim 9, furthercomprising: at least a first sensor carried by the substrate andoperable to sense at least one operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure, wherein the communicationscircuit is operable to wirelessly transmit information regarding the atleast one operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure from the lab-on-chip system. 11.The lab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising: at least a firstsensor carried by the substrate and operable to sense at least onephysical characteristic of the physical work product, wherein thecommunications circuit is operable to wirelessly transmit informationregarding the at least one physical characteristic of the physical workproduct from the lab-on-chip system.
 12. The lab-on-chip system of claim9, further comprising: a passive power circuit carried by the substrateand coupled to the antenna to wirelessly receive power thereby in theform of an electromagnetic filed and coupled to provide power to operateat least the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure.
 13. Thelab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising: a controller carriedby the substrate and communicatingly coupled to control operation of atleast the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure.
 14. Thelab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising: a controller carriedby the substrate and communicatingly coupled to control operation of atleast the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure; and a passivepower circuit carried by the substrate and coupled to the antenna towirelessly receive power thereby in the form of an electromagnetic fieldand coupled to provide power to operate the controller and at least thefirst micro-electrical-mechanical structure.
 15. The lab-on-chip systemof claim 9 wherein the antenna is carried by the substrate.
 16. Thelab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising: a communicationsport, wherein the antenna is communicatively coupled to thecommunications port and the antenna is not carried by the substrate. 17.The lab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising: a power storagedevice carried by the substrate and coupled to provide power to operateat least the first micro-electrical-mechanical structure.
 18. Thelab-on-chip system of claim 17 wherein the power storage devicecomprises at least one of a battery and an ultra-capacitor.
 19. Thelab-on-chip system of claim 9, further comprising a self checksubsystem.
 20. A method of operating a lab-on-chip system, the methodcomprising: wirelessly receiving an electromagnetic field at an antennaon a substrate; converting the wireless signal into electrical power;receiving instructions via the antenna and a communication circuit for acontroller; and driving at least one micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure with the electrical power, wherein the at least onemicro-electrical-mechanical structure is formed on the substrate. 21.The method of claim 20 wherein wirelessly receiving an electromagneticfield at an antenna comprises receiving an radio frequency signal at theantenna.
 22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: supplying aportion of the electrical power to a controller coupled to controloperation of the at least one micro-electrical-mechanical structure. 23.The method of claim 20, further comprising: sensing at least oneoperating characteristic of the first micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure; and wirelessly transmitting information regarding the atleast one operating characteristic of the micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure from the lab-on-chip system.
 24. The method of claim 20,further comprising: sensing at least one operating characteristic of thefirst micro-electrical-mechanical structure; and storing informationregarding the at least one operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure on the lab-on-chip system.
 25. Themethod of claim 20, further comprising: sensing at least one physicalcharacteristic of a physical work product operated on by the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure; and wirelessly transmittinginformation regarding the at least one physical characteristic of thephysical work product from the lab-on-chip system.
 26. The method ofclaim 20, further comprising: sensing at least one physicalcharacteristic of the fluid operated on by the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure; and wirelessly transmittinginformation regarding the at least one physical characteristic of thefluid from the lab-on-chip system.
 27. The method of claim 20 whereinthe at least one micro-electrical-mechanical structure is a pump anddriving at least one micro-electrical-mechanical structure with theelectrical power comprises driving the pump to move a fluid.
 28. Amethod of operating a lab-on-chip system; the method comprising:performing with a first micro-electrical-mechanical structure formed ona substrate at least one physical action on a work product; determininga physical characteristic of the physical work product; and wirelesslytransmitting with an antenna carried on the substrate the determinedinformation from the lab-on-chip system.
 29. The method of claim 28,further comprising: sensing the operating characteristic of the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure.
 30. The method of claim 28,further comprising: wirelessly receiving information at the lab-on-chipsystem; controlling operating of the first micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure based on the received information.
 31. The method of claim 28,further comprising: passively deriving energy to operate the firstmicro-electrical-mechanical structure from a wireless transmissionreceived at the antenna of the lab-on-chip system.
 32. The method ofclaim 28, further comprising: sensing the physical characteristic of thephysical work product.
 33. A method of operating a lab-on-chip system,the method comprising: wirelessly receiving an electromagnetic field atan antenna; converting the wireless signal into electrical power; andusing the electrical power to selectively apply respective electricalpotentials to each of a plurality of electrodes to move a fluidcomponent in a controlled manner.
 34. The method of claim 33 whereinwirelessly receiving an electromagnetic field at an antenna comprisesreceiving an radio frequency signal at the antenna.
 35. The method ofclaim 33, further comprising: supplying a portion of the electricalpower to a controller coupled to control operation of the plurality ofelectrodes.
 36. The method of claim 33, further comprising: sensing atleast one operating characteristic of at least one of the plurality ofelectrodes; and wirelessly transmitting information regarding the atleast one operating characteristic from the lab-on-chip system.
 37. Themethod of claim 33, further comprising: sensing at least one operatingcharacteristic of at least one of the plurality of electrodes; andstoring information regarding the at least one operating characteristicon the lab-on-chip system.
 38. The method of claim 33, furthercomprising: sensing at least one physical characteristic of the fluidcomponent operated on by the plurality of electrodes; and wirelesslytransmitting information regarding the at least one physicalcharacteristic from the lab-on-chip system.
 39. The method of claim 33wherein the fluid component is a microfluidic body, further comprising:sensing at least one physical characteristic of the microfluidic bodyoperated on by the plurality of electrodes; and wirelessly transmittinginformation regarding the at least one physical characteristic of themicrofluidic body from the lab-on-chip system.
 40. The method of claim33 wherein using the electrical power to selectively apply respectiveelectrical potentials to each of a plurality of electrodes to move afluid component in a controlled manner includes sequentially applyingrespective electrical potentials to each of at least two of theplurality of electrodes.
 41. A method of operating a lab-on-chip systemthe method comprising: determining at least one of an operatingcharacteristic of a first micro-electrical-mechanical structure formedon a substrate or a physical characteristic of the physical workproduct; and storing the determined information in a memory carried bythe substrate.
 42. The method of claim 41, further comprising: sensingthe operating characteristic of the first micro-electrical-mechanicalstructure.
 43. The method of claim 41, further comprising: sensing thephysical characteristic of the physical work product.
 44. The method ofclaim 41, further comprising: passively deriving energy to operate thefirst micro-electrical-mechanical structure from an electromagneticfield received at an antenna of the lab-on-chip system.